Soulja Boy made his debut at the age of 16, with the 2007 hit single "Crank That (Soulja Boy),” but now the Atlanta rapper (born, DeAndre Cortez Way) is gearing up to release his fourth studio album. Promise will be his most recent project since 2010’s The DeAndre Way, and Soulja Boy wants fans to know that his new album will be a clear representation of his growth and maturity.

In an interview with The Boombox, the 21-year-old rapper explained the evolution on his upcoming album. “Right now I’m working on my new album; it’s called Promise — my fourth album to release from Interscope Records. It’ll be in stores top of 2012,” he said. “I want everybody to support. [The album is] just really showing the growth and maturity of Soulja Boy. It’s going to be dope. It’s going to be lot of great records on it, a lot of dope features, a lot of great production. I want all my fans to check it out.”

Soulja Boy is giving his latest project an extra push, in hopes of having a better sales record than his previous album The DeAndre Way, which sold only 13,000 copies in its first week. The album has still sold a little over 100,000 copies to date. He’s also hoping to put this past year behind him, after having a tough time with the death of his brother and his recent arrest for possession of marijuana.

Regardless of what he's gone through, the young millionaire has a lot to be thankful for.

"[I'm] thankful for my family, very thankful for my family," he says. "I'm very thankful to be in the position that I'm in right now, just to touch so many people and be a role model for all the young people that's trying to come up in this world, and thankful to be alive."